Cream alternatives are known from a great number of publications such as e.g. the following references: EP 294119, wherein whippable creams are disclosed that contain a fat based on a mix of lauric fats with a ratio between solid fat index at 15 and 25° C. of more than 1.5, EP 540085 and EP 540087 from which soured spoonable cream alternatives are known based on fat mixtures of liquid oil and hardened lauric fats, while also some butterfat can be present, WO 03/043430 from which spreadable cream alternatives are known that display a Stevens hardness of 100 to 500 grams, wheras the fat applied according to the examples is either a liquid oil or a mixture of liquid oil and hardened coconut oil and a palm oil fraction (which is not specified), this total fat has an N10=5−95, an N20=1−50 and an N35=0−10, while it can be steep melting, as can be calculated from its N20 and N25 values (examples 2 and 3). In the text it is said that dairy fat can be present in this mixture in an amount up to 45 wt %, but this is not examplified. Further the compositions illustrated by the examples contain, as listed in table 1 on page 17 0.7 wt % of gelatin. The reason for adding gelatin is not given but this must have been added to control the oral mouthfeel, because we found that compositions without the gelatin display less acceptable oral mouthfeel. However the addition of gelatin to cream alternatives also has a number of draw backs such as the cream is no longer kosher and creams wherein gelatin is present are less accepted nowadays by the consumer. Addition of butterfat to the compositions according to the examples of WO '430 results in compositions that still lack oral mouthfeel as we noticed.
Moreover in the compositions according to WO '430 the biopolymer is present in a biopolymer phase, wherein the volume fraction of the biopolymer phase is from 0.2 to 0.5 as a result of the processing applied. In our novel food products the biopolymer is also present in the form of a biopolymer phase however herein the volume fraction of biopolymer phase is less than 0.1.
Spoonable creams are further disclosed in EP 691080 and in our earlier non-published WO application 03/02750 wherin however not the use of our steep melting fats is disclosed.